Help Me Brother!
by mrsspecialk
Summary: The four times Regulus recieved his brother's help, and the one time he refused to give it. Rated T fro implied child abuse but then this is the Black family. What d'yah expect? Reviews will be turned into dog biscuits and given to padfoot as treats :
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Okay so I know it's been ages since I wrote a story and I have left one unfinished but I will leave a proper apology on my profile. This idea has been playing around in my head for months and I just had to write it down. Sirius Black and the marauders are definitely my favourite characters so I wanted to do a story on them or one of them so here it is. This is my take on the Black brothers' relationship. It's probably quite OOC but I the books showed Sirius as a very protective person so I just exaggerated it a bit for the story. Enjoy and I'll have chapter 2 up ASAP. I promise not to abandon this story!  
P.S no, much like the rest of the fanfic authors, I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters and plots etc...blah blah blah and on with the story!  
P.S _italics _ar the flashbacks**

* * *

Regulus sat with the fake locket in his hand. He knew what he wanted –what he had- to do but could he find the nerve. He thought of what his poor elf had suffered. The fear he himself had faced every time the mark burned. He thought of his brother, the ironically titled black sheep of the family. Things had been so different when he was young before the five cousins had started Hogwarts. Bella, Andy, Siri, Cissy and Reggy. The world had wronged them all in some way and destroyed their innocence. Andy had been cast aside for loving the wrong person, and was now hunted by those she may have once called family. Bella, turned mad by the abuse in her childhood for not being a boy to inherit her part of the families fortune and desperate to make up for it by learning the dark arts and succeeding but losing her humanity in the progress. Siri, the one who said no almost right from the start and targeted by the death eaters for not joining their ranks. Cissy, forced to choose between her sisters and watch her family fall apart. And lastly, himself, now in a position to do one thing right in his life after years of trying to please the wrong people, but at price so terrible he could not dwell on it or he would be unable to complete the task ahead. He wanted someone to stop him. Help him. Save him from a terrible fate. But no one was coming to his aid this time.

He thought of all the times he had asked his brother for help and how he had never said no, even in the hardest of time. He thought of the onetime his brother had asked him for help- and how he had let him down. But now he would make it up to Sirius and perhaps one day his brother would know that he had tried to help. His mind raced over events in his childhood where he had been saved time and again by the Gryffindor courage his brother possessed.

* * *

_Regulus was really starting to panic by this point. The hour was almost up and he was completely stuck on the last question. It was study time at Grimauld Place- most Black's went to Hogwarts with most of the curriculum already revised in order to prove themselves better than the half-bloods and muggle spawn around them. However the punishments in the household were severe and his parents never held back- his mother with her rage and his father...with his belt._

_He looked over his shoulder to see Sirius scribbling furiously with his quill, desperate to finish the test. From his face Regulus could tell Sirius understood it completely but he had always been better at picking up the details of more complex magic. In a way Sirius was the perfect heir to the Black family. And Regulus hated it, because he tried so hard while it all just came to his older brother naturally- despite his dislike of his family's opinions._

_On the outside, Sirius was what the perfect heir should look like. He had the grey eyes of the Black family, which was not that common, even in the Black family but it was rarely found in other Ancient and Noble Houses. His perfect hair was as black as his name though perhaps longer than their mother would like. He stood tall and proud, his face the perfect unreadable mask when introduced to strangers- preparation for later in life for when he took his father's place as head of Black Family and would be expected to go into politics._  
_Mentally, he certainly had the potential to be very powerful and influential when he became of age. His mind could be cold and calculating. He was strong and stubborn so when he put his mind to a task he could practically pull of the impossible. At times he could seem uncaring and cruel even though this was not the case but merely a result of his harsh upbringing. In contrast with Regulus' blue eyes and brown hair, as well as his nature to do exactly as he was told, he was almost a disappointment._

_Perfect seemed to sum Sirius up in one word._

_Yet at the age of seven, Sirius had already begun to question everything he had been taught and the making of a rebellion against his family had started. He had played with a muggle child once –without his parents knowledge of course- and they had cut themselves on the slide at the park, but their blood looked no different from Sirius' who head the phrase 'filthy blood' thrown around daily and this had proved his family wrong. Besides, Regulus knew that Sirius had one of the biggest hearts in the family and became more reckless with each day._

_Regulus pulled his mind back to the crisis at hand to see that the timer was almost finished. Careful as to not be overheard, he whispered, "Sirius...Sirius!"His brother glanced at him and he mouthed, "Help me". Sirius looked at the door, his own work and the timer before gesturing helplessly to his brother. "I haven't finished yet either Reg."_  
_Reg nodded understanding before sighing and putting his quill down, accepting the inevitable. He heard movement beside him and jumped thinking it was his father. Looking up to see Sirius he grew hopeful. His brother smiled slightly, and picked up his quill. He proceeded to finish his brother's test for him, explaining the concepts as he went. With seconds to go Sirius returned to his own seat before their father entered the room._

_His smile not quite reaching his eyes he extended his arms to receive his sons' work for that day. Regulus triumphantly handed his completed work to his father, noting with delight the approving glance that was sent his way. Orion Black turned to Sirius who I turn gave him his test._

_Regulus sensed that something was not right when Sirius kept his eyes on the ground. Orion read over the page and his eyes narrowed at the end. He took a deep breath, "Tell me Sirius, can you tell time?" Silence."Well?" he demanded._

_"Yes Father." came the quiet reply._

_"Then why, have you failed to complete you assignment? Are idle or just too unintelligent to complete a simple task?"_  
_Reg's, eyes went wide as he realised the situation. In a moment of true Gryffindor bravery, he open his mouth to speak in his brothers defence, but a small shake of Sirius' head I his direction silenced him. Eventually Sirius looked his father in the eye and simply said, "I'm sorry."_

_Orion's face was a mask as he sent Sirius upstairs to wait and receive his punishment. With a cold smile to Regulus Orion returned his paper and followed his eldest up the creaking staircase._  
_Somewhere in the back of his head Regulus noted he had full marks on the last question but he could only sit there feeling stunned. _

_Half an hour later he made his way to his room on the top floor. He stopped at the door across from his, seeing that Sirius' door was slightly ajar. He peered inside to check his father had left but saw only his brother, sitting on the bed facing away from the door. Regulus moved to sit beside him and Sirius did not stop him._

_"Why?" he asked._

_"Why what?"_

_"Why did you do that? You agreed to help me but I thought you'd finished. Why finish mine without first doing your own work?"_

_Sirius studied him carefully. "It's my job. You asked for help, and I'm your big brother. Besides, I'm the oldest so it hurts less." Regulus couldn't quite understand this. He had rarely been on the receiving end of the belt and at six couldn't see why his brother would help him. But then hadn't Sirius always been there for him. Always the one getting in trouble in his place? After a moments silence he got up and left with a nod to his brother, still feeling a bit confused  
_

* * *

He hadn't even said thank you...

**A/N So okay, this starts off quite slow and I'll be turning the flashbacks into chapters because otherwise this would be too long but the others will be shorter and probably better written because I'm aware that this wasn't very exciting but I wanted to set the scene and their personalities before I go into other stuff. They'll also probably be older in other chapters with more dialogue and other characters so please review cause it keeps me going  
P.S JinxPhoenix18884 add me on pottermore :D  
P.S.S Sorry for the monster a/n's at the beginning and end of this chapter.**


	2. The vase

**Disclaimer: What do you think?**

He shook himself out of his memories attempting to focus himself again. Regulus clutched the locket in his hand and stood up slowly. Everything seemed to drag out; as though time itself had slowed down, the silence of the usually creaking house making him squirm with discomfort, yet a single noise could destroy the entire mission by waking his parents and rendering him helpless and at their mercy.

He took a last look at his room hoping for some sort of comfort but found nothing he could see that he was particularly sad to leave behind. It could have been a stranger's room if he removed the pictures of himself from the wall. His gaze fell upon a vase sitting on a table in the corner. He remembered how it had come to be there and felt himself slip into the past once more.

* * *

_Reggie was young and had no desire to in pureblood politics, the ministry of magic or anything else that was not along the lines of hide and seek. Running about in this household was never a wise idea yet neither he nor his brother was particularly bothered by this rule. After all, surely every little boy should be able to run about once in a while and they found that if they were quiet and did not disturbed any of the other occupants in the house, they were quite safe from any reprise from their parents...most of the time at least._

_Their mother had been telling them off more recently though as Christmas had just passed and the house was littered with many horrible, ugly and ridiculously expensive gifts including an especially disgusting vase from their Aunt Druella that must have cost at least an arm and possibly a leg- Borgin and Burkes most finest no doubt._

_However, Reggie did not care for any of this until he ran into the cabinet it was perched on and watched in horror as it fell to the ground and shattered before his eyes on the stone floor._

_Seconds...minutes...hours seemed to pass in silence as Regulus contemplated what this could mean for him. Just then, Sirius ran into the room shouting, "Found ya!" His face alit with excitement and victory before taking in the tears welling in his little brother's eyes. He frowned and searched around him, looking for the source of his brother's misery. His face paled as he took in the broken shards of what used to be one of their mother's favourite ornaments.  
"Reg, what have you done..." he whispered._

"_I...I...I don't- It wasn't-" Little Reg stuttered out a half completed reply before losing the ability to speak altogether.  
Sirius bent over and picked up one of the glass remnants staring at it as though he could will it to repair itself. He snapped up straight to attention as he heard the sound of his mother's approach, the clicking of her low heels echoing off the walls. Reg was barely able to consider this as the door flew open revealing his mother wearing her usual mask of permanent displeasure._

"_May I ask what in Merlin's name are you doing that could possibly cause so much noise and disruption. You know how that sort of behaviour vexes me."_

_It was then her eyes narrowed at the mess on the floor before widening in a rare outward display of anger."And what...is this?" She eventually managed to spit out._

_Before Regulus could even begin to think about how he could escape his punishment, Wulburga Black, turned on him searching his face for guilt and obviously finding it written all over his face. He could think of no excuses and was prepared for the worst but his brother was less fazed by his mother's anger and his sharp mind had already come to conclusion of how he could rectify his brother's situation. He stepped forward._

"_I'm sorry Mother." He said staring intently at the wall over her shoulder.  
"Pardon," she replied, somewhat surprised._

"_I'm sorry for the mess I made. It was an accident, I promise."_

_Had Wulburga not been so shacked by her eldest's seeming honesty, she probably would have taken in Reggie's confused face and the fact that Sirius was indeed further from the mess than Reg who had not yet moved since the accident occurred. However, any qualms she may have had were quenched when Sirius held out the piece of the broken vase he had picked up earlier, showing had been in contact with the item. Fury erupted within her but again she made no display of it on the outside._

"_I was trying to clean it up and Reg came to help but got scared of being involved..." Sirius lied, his gazed no fixed directly into his mother's eyes-his mask firmly in place, showing no tell tale signs of a lie._

"_Outside. Now." She gritted out quietly between her teeth._

_Sirius lowered his head and marched out of the room, followed by the mother and eventually Regulus, who was still in a trance like state. They entered the kitchen and Wulburga open the back door leading to a small decrepit yard and gestured for her son to go through first. He did without a sound and was nearly at the other side before he turned back expecting to see his mother at his heels._

_His mask fell as he saw she was still in the doorway and he only had time to register her small and cruel smile before she slammed it shut and locked it, leaving him outside in late Autumn/early Winter, with no proper jacket or food, and no way to leave the 'garden'. Satisfied with her punishment she left the kitchen and Regulus who was now pressed against the window staring at his brother. Their eyes met as Siri plonked himself down on the ground against the fence. Reggie questioned him with his eyes to which Sirius merely shrugged, used to being punished and happy to take the blame for his baby brother. _

_That night was a sleepless night for both boys: Sirius because of the cold and hunger and Reggie due to the guilt pressing down on him. He wanted to ask Sirius why he had done that but knew he would get the usual response, "You're my little brother, and it's my job to look after you." Or something along those lines._

* * *

He never realised how much he had come to rely on Sirius' protection and it had cost him as he got older. He became more arrogant like his family each day and less able to fight off the pull of the Dark Arts as he was subject to them less than Sirius. But now he had joined the Death Eaters, it was common to be subjected to some sort of torture curse and he found he had gain a lot of wisdom as a result.  
Looking away from the repaired vase which had been moved to his room for safety after the incident, he turned again to the door and started towards it.

He swept from the room without a glance back.

**A/N: Sorry about the late update, but school has been so hectic. But now we have reached the realms of the summer holidays so updates should be more common :D  
Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review**


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